Hostage
by SevenGee
Summary: "Malfoy, you have to stop this, please!" "Don't come any closer, Granger." "No. You can stop this, I can help you." Amidst the rise of the Dark Lord, Hermione and the others are trapped with a boy they never thought might kill them all. Oneshot.


A/N: Bear with me for this one, I swear it should be good… hahaha!

Disclaimer: I own none of nothing of the Harry Potter series. However, I changed a few things here and there about the gangs sixth year (at least, I took this to be their sixth year).

This story does not follow the events that took place in their sixth year. They refer to Dumbledore once or twice, so just for this story, let's assume he's alive! Thank you!

Summary: "Malfoy, you have to stop this, please!" "Don't come any closer, Granger." "No. You can stop this, I can help you." Amidst the rise of the Dark Lord, Hermione and the others are trapped with a boy they never thought might kill them all. Oneshot.

**xxxxxx**

**Hostage**

**xxxxxx**

Every which way Hermione looked at the situation before her, it always came to the very same conclusion. They did not all have to be in that room, they did not all have to feel as fearful as she was sure they felt – no. The thoughts that had been plaguing her all week had finally come to fruition. In a way, she knew this was coming. In every which way, it was her fault.

All her fault.

Draco smiled at them all, and at first glance, it would have been a small, bashful smile; they all knew better however. How that smile held a far deeper meaning then they dared realize, for if they did, they were surely all doomed. This boy was a killer – or at least, he soon would be.

Soon.

"Malfoy, what are you doing?" Harry asked with caution. "Put… put your wand down," he said, as his eyes flitted across the room in worry.

"I can't, Potter. I can't let you leave."

All those in the Potions classroom looked at each other in disbelief, and none dared ask why. Ron stood stock still, unable to evaluate the situation; Pansy and Blaise glared at who they thought was their friend; Ginny's eyes lingered on the door Draco's body was blocking, as if trying to magic it open. As for Hermione, she looked down in shame, for what else could she possibly do besides remind herself that had she acted sooner, perhaps this could have been avoided?

Before the current confusion, they had all arrived to Potions early in their respective groups, and waited for the remainder of their other classmates to file in. The bell had come and gone however, yet they remained to be the only students present for class, indicating that something was very wrong at Hogwarts. Subsequently, Ginny had abandoned her Charms class to join Harry, Ron and Hermione in Potions, in order to fight with them if the situation called for it. Not long after however, a voice rang around Hogwarts that students were to take cover in a designated classroom and not to leave until given the all clear. Draco had since blocked the door, leaving the group before him restless, and wanting to fight.

"Stop this now, Draco," Pansy's voice rang out.

"No," he said quietly.

"Malfoy, there have been strangers spotted lurking Hogwarts grounds, we have to go!" Harry said urgently. "Step away from the door."

"Or what?" Draco said, with a sudden rise in confidence. "Surely you won't make me?" he challenged. Harry stepped forward aggressively, but just as quickly Ron grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him away.

"No," Ron said fiercely. "We can't fight like this – the school is in danger. Those strangers could be Death Eaters and so we have to stick together," he said with a stronger tone of voice.

"You're right about one thing…" Draco trailed off. "Death Eaters have come to Hogwarts."

"Then get out of our way, Malfoy! We have to help out there! There are Death Eaters!" Harry pleaded.

Draco, who had pulled out his wand and was now fiddling with it, looked slowly up at Harry.

"I'm one of them."

Silence entered the room and blanketed them all momentarily. It seemed to challenge Draco's words, expecting him to end it with a chuckle of sorts, as if he could have just told them a joke. But no laughter escaped his lips. His eyes darkened and his face became gaunt. Slowly, he brought up the sleeve that covered his left arm, and there it was.

The mark of evil had been tattooed upon his arm, bold and raw. It was, of course, burning black, and one could almost see the smoke rising from it, calling. There was no doubting then, that Draco Malfoy had in fact, become a Death Eater.

Suddenly, in a moment of sheer panic, Harry lunged straight for the door, hoping to knock Malfoy's wand out of his hand at the same time, but Malfoy was just as fast; in a single swift movement, he wrapped an arm around Harry's neck, disarmed him of his wand and pressed his own straight down at Harry's heart.

"Roll your wands to me or Potter gets it!" he half bellowed, half panted. They shook their heads.

"You wouldn't hurt him," Ginny said, but her voice had inclined, making her words come out in question.

Harry continued to put up a fight, but Malfoy took a moment to hit Harry square in the face, subduing him, however momentarily. Ginny shrieked, and put her head on Hermione's shoulders as tears began to flood down her cheeks. Hermione glared at him, outraged. She chucked her wand in his direction, and just like he had done with Harry's wand, pocketed it.

"Give him your wands, everyone," Ron said numbly, while rolling Draco his own. "Do it."

"No way," said Blaise feverishly. "What's it to me if he hurts Potter? I'm keeping my wand," he rebuffed.

"You would let me kill the wizarding world's only hope? He's the Chosen One you fool, if he dies then the rest of you die with him!" Draco yelled.

Blaise looked round at Ron and Hermione for confirmation, but both were already nodding their heads vehemently. "He's the Chosen One," Ron said nervously. "Roll your wand already, dammit!"

Blaise and Pansy followed suit, in quiet indignity, and Draco pocketed them with the rest of the wands inside his cloak.

"What does He want you to do, huh Malfoy?" Blaise said. "If He wants you to deliver Potter, you have him. Let us go, we're useless to you."

"Even better reason to kill you all, wouldn't you think? Draco responded.

Pansy scoffed. "You wouldn't. You haven't got the guts."

"No," came Ron's voice. "I'm not leaving you with Harry."

"Shut up," Draco said in sudden irritation. "Shut up all of you." Without question, they all fell silent, as Draco muttered to himself, deciding what next to do.

Hermione had deduced in her mind that this was not Draco at all. This was the Draco that the Dark Lord had surely forced him to become. She was not about to admit to herself that she knew the boy at all, that their relationship was anything beyond simple school adversaries. But she was sure this was not him, for she had glimpsed the real one before - glimpsed it, spoken briefly to it, but never looked back at it. This, Hermione was realizing, was perhaps her biggest mistake of all.

"Alright, everyone take a seat. Just do it," he said fiercely, as their faces all expressed that of outrage and disbelief.

"Someone will come," Ron warned him as he carefully took a seat beside his sister. "Someone is bound to check up on us, and realize what you're doing."

"No one is coming," Draco said. "No one."

How he knew this, they were not sure, but all of them were aware that he was at least telling the truth. Perhaps he knew where the other students where? Perhaps they too were in the same situation they found themselves currently in? Or worse yet, the Death Eaters had already reached them. The thoughts seemed to all cross their minds at the same time, and as if in physical pain, Hermione winced.

"What is it, Granger?" Draco said, after magically binding Harry to a chair at the front of the classroom. Hermione's eyes shone in disgust at him, and Draco let out a dry laugh. "I can imagine what you must be feeling right now."

Hermione remained silent and turned away from him.

"Oh, don't be like that Granger," Draco said. She did not answer him, she did not turn around. The room waited for her reaction, but she did not give him one. Draco's eyes hardened. "Granger," he snapped. "Look at me."

"Leave her alone," Ron said quickly.

"Yeah, Malfoy, do something useful for once, like letting us out," Blaise suggested. Draco looked at him sharply, silencing him.

"What is it, Granger? Are you scared? Numb? _Guilty_ perhaps?"

Hermione turned to face him sharply. She shook her head, repulsed by him. Draco smiled at her and found his way to the Professor's desk. He sat down, and eyed them all.

"Some of us might be here for quite some time… by all means, make yourselves feel comfortable." He stretched his feet over the Professor's wide office desk and leaned back. "No one leaves this room unless I say so. No one even tries to make contact with the outside. Death Eaters are placed strategically in hiding places throughout Hogwarts. If anyone reaches these doors, I start killing students. Do you understand? Besides," Draco added quietly to his stunned classmates, "you're all much safer in here anyway."

They looked at one another grimly, unable to face the truth. They chanced a look at their captor; all humor and sarcasm disappeared from his face.

"As of now, you're all hostage."

**xxxxxx**

Draco was sitting at the Professor's desk, twirling his wand in one hand and surveying his classmates. Hermione hadn't uttered a single word since the very start, and truth be told, she found no use in speaking. Had she even tried, she was sure her guilt would simply pour out, and she was not yet ready to face the repercussions of her mistake.

Draco had since magically barred all the windows, nooks, crannies and cracks shut within the room. They could suffocate with all the fear and anxiety trapped between them, but Hermione figured perhaps some of them would have preferred that to the silent torture that prevailed over them all.

"C'mon, Malfoy, humor us," Blaise drawled from the corner of the room where he took his seat. "If you're going to hole us in this room you may as well tell us a joke or two."

Malfoy lazily looked in his supposed friend's direction. "No," he said simply.

"Well then what?" Blaise said, frustration suddenly taking over his voice, "What do you think you're doing? What is the point in all of this?"

Draco turned to Blaise, apparently amused. "Well, I suppose the Dark Lord would like the wizarding world to finally learn a lesson."

"And what would that be?" Harry groaned from the front of the room, where he remained tied to his seat. A bump had formed at the top of his head, and his eye struggled to stay open.

"That the wicked never lose… never," Draco said quietly.

"You're wrong," Ginny contradicted. "The wicked lose, Malfoy. They do."

He shook his head. "No, Weasley. The wicked are kept at bay… nothing less, nothing more. But eventually they strike. In time, they always do."

The room went silent. Hermione, in her seat next to Ginny, took the opportunity to survey him, her classmate who had gone so evil. His wand was up, sometimes pointing to Harry, sometimes pointing in no direction at all. Her face fell at the thought of him killing one of them.

"You think I'm evil?" Draco said. The lot of them looked about, realizing that he had begun speaking to Hermione again.

She looked away once more, determined to speak to him only when necessary.

"You're not so talkative, Granger. We're in your favourite setting, aren't we? The classroom," he said with fake marvel. "What is it, Granger? What's the matter?"

Tears welled in her eyes, and tactfully, wisely, she chose to not give him the light of day.

"It's because you feel safe in a classroom, and I've taken that away from you, isn't it? Or is there more?" he taunted. "You're scared."

"Aren't you?"

They were the first words out of her mouth since being locked away. His eyes narrowed in her direction. She could sense his temptation to walk towards her, completely bore into her, and wound her with words.

"Leave her alone," Ron said, sensing it too.

He calmed himself down, and instead fixed his eyes to the windows.

"You should have done something, Granger."

Everyone's eye shone in curiosity.

"I know that now," Hermione whispered.

"What is he talking about?" Pansy said sharply.

Together they disregarded her words. Hermione stared sadly at Draco and he turned away from them completely.

"I'm scared too."

**xxxxxx**

It was the week before, and very late when Hermione decided to stroll the castle. She was a Prefect. She was allowed. Her mind had been too full to sleep, with the murder of Susan Bones' aunt and the kidnapping of Henrietta's mother. Family and friends of her peers were getting hurt, killed or stolen day by day, and she felt the world around her grow darker with every moment. Of course she could not sleep.

She took slow, quiet steps, careful not to stir the portraits and the wandering ghosts. She let herself walk deeper into the castle, while unconsciously following her usual route of supervision. As she passed the statue of the one-eyed witch, Hermione stopped. She hadn't realized it, but a noise like the grinding of stone against stone was slowly but surely filling the hallway – the witch's hump was opening, to surely let a Hogwarts student back into the castle after sneaking out. She was aware that of course, this was one of Hogwarts' many secret passages, but she never would have guessed that it would be in use, just as she was walking by.

As the heaves and grunts of the student to get through the passage's door grew louder, Hermione could tell it was a boy. Tactfully, she ducked behind a wall, only needing to see the person's face for when she would seek him out tomorrow, for she did not feel up to scolding whichever student would soon emerge from the secret passageway.

Finally, a leg and an arm came through the witch's hump, followed by the remainder of a body. Hermione's eyes gleamed as the light from a torch revealed the sight of the highly identifiable head of blond, slicked back hair.

"Malfoy," she whispered.

He cursed softly as his left sleeve became caught by the long nails of the one-eyed witch's hand. He pulled at it to get loose, turned and turned thinking it would come off. Clumsily, the sleeve ripped away.

Hermione's eyes bore down at his arm, as the torchlight shone directly above it. A skull with a snake wrapped all about was on his skin, absolutely vivid and shining bright, though not pulsing with the pain of the Dark Lord's call. No – the mark seemed fresh. As if it had just been tattooed on.

Hermione gasped in realization, revealing herself. Draco looked up sharply in the direction of the noise, but Hermione had already ducked.

"Who's there? Who's hiding?" he called boldly. Hermione's eyes were closed shut, but still she could hear his nearing footsteps. Instinctively, she ran.

"Hey! HEY!" Draco yelled as she sprinted off. He chased after her, ignoring the calls of angry portraits awakened by the noise, and dodging armored knights and sleepless ghosts.

Hermione looked behind her, and became aware that Draco was not far behind. She was nearing a set of stairs, and would have furthered her distance from Draco, but it had already begun to move away from her. Her eyes closed in resignation and fear, for she realized she was cornered until the moving staircase returned to her. On the other hand, Draco had reached the end of the corridor and stopped there, while Hermione had nothing else to do but wait at the foot of the stairs, where really there were none.

"You," Draco panted, staring angrily at her. The cloth of his robe had completely torn, and his mark was visible for her to see. "Whatever you saw -"

"Malfoy, how could you?" Hermione interjected, her voice ringing with disbelief. "The mark… the Death Eaters… _you_! A Death Eater?" she said helplessly. "Why?"

He looked around himself and took a step towards her. Hermione stretched out her hand. "Stay where you are. Please, just stay where you are."

Draco stopped and roughly shook his head. "He made me do it. They all made me do it. They all expected me to…" he glanced up at her and chanced another step in her direction. "Granger, you can't -"

"I can't what?" she said, almost breathlessly.

"You can't believe that this is what I wanted."

She looked behind her and saw that the moving staircase would soon finish its rotation and return to where she stood. Hermione looked down.

"You won't tell Dumbledore, will you?"

She bit her lip. "I… I-I don't know -"

He looked at her sharply. "Will you tell anybody?" he said, more forcefully this time, making Hermione jump in surprise.

The moving staircase had finally returned to wait behind Hermione, but only for a few seconds. She stepped onto it quickly, finding no other way to end her conversation with Draco, who still remained at the entrance of the corridor. His mark gleamed whenever a candle's light flickered over him.

"Goodbye, Malfoy."

The staircase lurched away, and Hermione turned away from him. No, she would not tell anyone. If anything, she would take it to the grave, for if she didn't, she knew full well that Draco would pay dearly for it when Voldemort was made aware that he had been discovered.

Wishing dearly that she had spent the entire night in her dormitory, Hermione walked back to Gryffindor Tower, disappointed and morose at the thought of her school nemesis. Surely nothing would actually come of his initiation. Surely it was just a mark on his arm, securing his place in the circle for the future. He would not need to take action so soon. Not now. Perhaps not ever.

When Hermione went to bed that night and faced the week to come, she continuously had to push to the back of her mind that it was her misplaced faith in Malfoy and tendency to see the good in others that made her believe her own desperate, helpless lie.

**xxxxxx**

Everyone in the room was throwing looks between Draco and Hermione in complete astonishment. Ginny had tears in her eyes and the look of betrayal that Hermione was receiving from her fellow classmates could have sent her to tears as well.

"_You_," Pansy said in outrage, "You could have stopped this."

"I know," Hermione said quietly. "Please, I never thought that -"

"Of course you knew!" Pansy yelled. "Of course you knew this might happen! But no, Wise Hermione Granger decided to take matters into her own hands and not report what happened to Dumbledore."

"Stop," Ron said, but without much conviction.

"Why should I?" Pansy said unforgivingly. Her eyes were merciless as they stared in Hermione's direction. "One of us will die here," she said harshly. Everyone looked up. "Someone will die, and it's your fault, Granger. Have fun living with that on your conscience."

Hermione looked down, ashamed, as Draco simply arched an eyebrow in Pansy's direction.

"Well Pansy, it won't be you."

She looked round at him in question. "What do you mean?"

"I've had enough of you in this classroom, really. Go." She stared at him in disbelief. Draco merely flicked a look in the direction of the door. "Leave," he said coldly.

Gingerly, and as if to test his words Pansy stood up. When he did nothing to stop her, her eyes darted around the classroom. "Just me? What about the others?" she said cautiously. Draco did not answer her.

"Well hey, come on then," Blaise said quickly, "if Pansy gets to leave, as her fellow Slytherin House mate, I think I too should -"

"Go," Draco said. "You're done here." In his suddenness to agree, Blaise was momentarily silenced.

"Why do they get to go?" Ron asked indignantly.

Draco glared at him. He walked over to Harry, still strapped in his seat and pointed his wand threateningly at Harry's heart once more. "Because I say so. Do as you're told," he said sharply to Pansy and Blaise.

Together they walked slowly to the door. Draco watched them go with a hint of wretchedness in his eyes.

"Go to the Room of Requirement and run as fast as you can. If anybody stops you, tell them Draco Malfoy sent you off." They nodded. "Don't let them get to you," Draco said quietly. "Like they got to me."

Mechanically, Draco waved his own wand to open the door for them and retrieved Blaise and Pansy's wands from within his cloak. He sent them zooming out the door before them, bidding their owners to follow without hesitation. Both Blaise and Pansy stared unhappily at their friend.

"Sad to see you go down the wrong path, mate," Blaise said, as if he were lost. "See you soon then."

Pansy held the door open for and together they left in the direction of their wands, straight for Room of Requirement. The second they were out the door, both sprinted in the direction of the Great Hall, tears falling from Pansy's face. The door shut behind them, the sound resonating in the cold dungeon.

"That wasn't fair, Malfoy," Ron said once they were gone, his voice growing stronger. "If you let them go you should've let us go as well, Harry too! This isn't right, Malfoy, you've got to stop this -"

"Weasley, be quiet," Malfoy said severely. "You're not done here yet." The threat in that statement seemed to silence Ron completely, and so he turned in his seat to comfort Ginny, all the while glaring at Draco.

"Hermione, why?" Harry asked from the corner of his mouth.

"I'm so sorry," she said to everyone.

"Please, what would you have done?" Draco asked unkindly. "Turned me in, right? Let my family suffer at the cost of it, knowing that the Dark Lord would punish them for my carelessness that night?"

"You and your family," Harry spat. "Your family has to pay for the mistakes they made in the past one of these days, Malfoy."

"And what about your mistakes, Potter?" Draco said harshly. "Always the hero, you must always fight alone yet you continuously put your loved ones in danger with your very presence," Draco taunted quietly. "So flawed."

Harry fell silent.

"And what about you, Weasleys?" Draco rounded, pointing his wand at Ron and Ginny in turn. "Surely you wouldn't understand me, seeing as your family takes you as you are, whether you become a Ministry member or a joke shop owner, isn't that right? You and your freedom to do what you please…"

Ron trembled as Draco stood over him with his wand, and Ginny held a protective arm over her brother. When he finally lifted his arm and went back to the desk, Ginny began to silently cry once more.

"No, none of you would understand," Draco said to himself quietly. "It's a shame. See, I've seen you all in your glass houses, how you spend holidays together, go on adventures together, even risk dying for each other if you have to…"

He pointed his wand at each of them individually, as if it were a toy gun he could playfully aim at others with. "You have yet to know what it feels like, in my shoes of course. Living in fear of your father; knowing that your family isn't much of a family at all…"

Hermione looked at Draco in disgust. She felt as if he had gone insane.

"What are you here to do, Malfoy?" she said finally. "Deliver Harry to Voldemort? Teach us a lesson from the Dark Lord? Or are you just teaching us _your_ lessons?" she said, remembering how he had let Blaise and Pansy go upon making them aware of his forced initiation, and telling them not to let the same thing happen to them.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you, Granger," he drawled while ignoring her words at the same time. "Potter and the Weasleys surely have their faults, but you're the most flawed one of all. After all, you didn't turn me in, did you?"

Hermione looked down in guilt.

"You never told a soul…" he trailed.

"It's my fault," Hermione said. "I should pay the consequences, it's only right," she said.

Harry, Ron and Ginny gave her stern looks, but Draco did not react.

"You're right about one thing, Granger," he said quietly. "It's only right." He laughed quietly to himself. "But it's not your fault. It's mine."

**xxxxxx**

It felt as if the day would soon be over, but truthfully not many hours had passed. Silence had entered the room, and talking was not something anyone felt up to the task of doing. No one had heard from Blaise or Pansy, however they were all sure they were in safe hands. Ron looked up in apparent boredom, and addressed Draco calmly.

"Whatever it is you have to do, Malfoy, you're not going to do it."

"What makes you think so?" he replied.

"You would have done it hours ago. We're still here. It doesn't have to be like this, we can protect you."

"Be quiet, Weasley. Let me think."

"You've had hours to think," Ron objected loudly. "Let us go."

"No," Draco said calmly.

"Hermione," Ron said quickly, and Hermione sensed that his mind had perhaps gone slightly haywire since being isolated, "we could rush him, we could disarm him together before he could even hurt Harry."

"I wouldn't do that," Draco said, "because I would surely kill one of you, in the time that it would take you to get to me. Question is," Draco drawled, "which one of you would it be?"

"Malfoy, let us out -"

"No."

"You can't do this! You have to let us go -"

"No, I don't."

"Let us go, dammit-!"

"No, Weasley."

Ron roared in frustration and Hermione suspected he would soon charge Malfoy. When he stood up to do so, Malfoy, expecting it just as much, waved his wand, which flung Ron straight to the wall. Without missing a beat, he then marched towards Ginny and roughly grabbed her round the neck, pointing the wand at her heart all before Ron could recuperate.

Hermione screamed and her hands flew to her mouth, while Harry tried more than ever to free himself from the ropes that magically bound him to the chair.

"If I let you go, I might kill her," Draco said manically as Ron lay injured at the foot of the wall he had been thrown at. "You don't want me to do that, do you?"

Ron shook his head pleadingly. "I'll be quiet, I'll sit back down, I'll do anything," he rattled on. "Just don't hurt her, please don't hurt her!"

Draco glared but did not let Ginny go. He pulled at her hair and jabbed the wand behind Ginny's back, making Ginny cry out in pain, and Ron cry out in horror.

"What do you want from me?" Ron roared. "What do you want? Anything, I'll do it!"

As Draco pondered at Ron's words, the only thing to be heard was Harry's panting and Ginny's sobbing. Hermione remained mortified but silent in her chair. Finally, Draco inched forwards toward Ron, with Ginny still in his strong hold.

"Take her," he said coldly, throwing Ginny roughly to the floor next to Ron. "And don't you dare look back."

Ron scrambled to hug Ginny, and looked up at Draco, confused. "I don't understand -"

"Take her," Draco bellowed. "And go! Isn't this what you wanted?" Ron nodded numbly. "Then go. Do the same as Pansy and Blaise – head for the Room of Requirement and tell them who sent you off if you're stopped! GO!"

He strode quickly to the door, rolled their two wands outside, and pointed his own at them, gesturing for them to follow their wands in the same direction outside. "Get your wands – and go," he said calmly this time, with a lingering finality to his words.

Ron remained stunned but managed to pick Ginny up and walk towards the door. "What about Hermione… Harry…"

"Leave them now or I'll kill you where you stand," Draco said mercilessly. Ron's eyes shone with regretful tears, but Hermione nodded at him, knowing he would do what he must.

"You're free. Just like the freedom your family so willingly gives you. Don't you dare take it for granted," Draco said. "Or your family's love," he quietly added.

Grimly, Ron wrenched open the door and Ginny assisted him as he struggled to leave.

"I'll see you soon," Ron said quietly. "All of you."

Draco looked up and smiled sadly to himself.

"Here's hoping, Weasley. Now run."

**xxxxxx**

With Hermione and Harry left alone in the classroom and with Draco's number of captives dwindling down, Hermione tried convincing herself that the ordeal would soon be over, and that he'd set them all free – he would force them to learn their individual lessons and surely let them go. Draco was not Lord Voldemort – he would show them mercy. He would show himself mercy.

"End this now, Malfoy," Harry groaned in his seat. The bump on his head had swelled so severely, he had trouble seeing out his right eye. "You'll let Hermione go, then you'll let me go, and you'll run – you and your family. We won't hunt you down."

Draco remained silent and rubbed his temple. Truthfully, that was a very plausible scenario, if it weren't for the Death Eaters he knew would be waiting for him once he left the castle. Escape was not so easy – escape in fact, was not an option.

"I haven't finished what I'm here to do," he said solemnly.

"What are you here to do then?" Harry asked roughly. "You haven't accomplished anything since isolating us, not a thing," he said with a rising voice.

"You really think so?" Draco asked. "You don't think Pansy or Blaise will think twice now, when they hear their parents wishing they would fight for the Dark Lord? You don't think Weasley will ever feel overshadowed by a sibling again, after nearly losing one? He won't love them unconditionally instead?"

"Who the bloody hell do you think you are, Malfoy?" Harry asked roughly.

"I think I'm the one who calls the shots," he said strongly. Suddenly, an explosion from above was heard, along with terrible, frightened screams. Both Harry and Hermione looked at one another in horror, as noise began to fall around them. Draco's eyes darted around the room, panicked by the sudden noise.

"You," he finally said to Harry after the noise had died, but only a little. "Perhaps it's your turn to learn a lesson."

Hermione's eyes widened.

"Malfoy, you have to stop this, please."

"No," came his usual response. "I won't."

She stood up. Draco's eyes flashed in her direction.

"Don't come any closer, Granger."

"Why? What are you going to do, Malfoy?"

He glared between the both of them, thinking quickly about what he would do. She took a few steps closer to him.

"You can stop this," she whispered. "I can help you. Let Harry go," she pleaded with him.

Draco strode quickly towards her and held her by the shoulders. Admittedly, Hermione braced herself for the wand that would be jabbed at her back, or the pain of the curse that could have potentially hit her, but she felt nothing – nothing but his hands over her shoulders.

"What are you doing, Malfoy?" she asked cautiously.

Draco blinked several times. In that moment, Hermione sensed worry in his eyes. He held within him great indecision, and she felt, for a moment, there was hope in him yet. Forcefully, Draco finally set her aside, and instead, made his way towards Harry.

"No," Hermione found herself saying, taken aback. "No! What are you doing? What will you do to him?"

"Butt out of it, Granger," Draco said, as he took Harry's chair and with difficulty, wheeled it to the door of the classroom. Harry looked at him fearfully.

"What are you doing?"

"Always the hero, aren't you? Dealing with things by yourself?" Harry struggled fruitlessly as Draco walked purposefully towards him. The intent in his eyes was almost frightening.

"Out," Draco said to him. "You've always wanted to take a break from the spotlight, haven't you? Always wanted to know what it felt like for everyone not to rely on you to solve the problem? Here you have it, Potter," he said. "Let Hermione solve this one for you."

"No! No!" Harry said, as Draco opened the door and pushed Harry, who was still in his chair, outside of the room. "Malfoy, don't do this! Let me stay, let her leave! No!"

"I'm sorry, Potter." Quickly, he tucked Harry's wand roughly but securely into his robes and lifted the spell that bound him to the chair. "They need you out there," he said quietly.

Before Harry could make a single move, Draco had already sent the chair flying away, headed straight for the Room of Requirement, leaving Hermione completely alone.

Hermione looked on in fear. When Draco closed the door, she did not know what else to do but cower. His eyes remained tired, but she could tell that though she was the last person in the room, things were far from being over.

**xxxxxx**

"What now, Malfoy?" Hermione asked quietly. She had taken cover behind a table, though she knew it was useless. If Draco wanted to get to her, he surely would, and Hermione shivered at the thought.

"I know what I have to do," he said. "I knew it all along."

She watched him pace the room, bothered by something beyond Hermione. She was taken aback by the sudden emptiness of the room and how the silencing thought seemed to echo between them. They were alone. It was just the two of them now, and yet she was still not dead. Nor Harry or Ron. None of them were dead. In fact, they had all been set free… Hermione's eyes dawned in realization.

"They sent you to kill Harry," she said quietly. "But you didn't."

"You have no idea what I've been doing, Granger," Draco said feverishly.

"Of course I do," Hermione said. She had sensed that Draco had been acting of his own accord since letting them all go. She knew he could not have been the killer the Death Eaters thought he was.

"You knew they would come today, but instead you kept us all in here," she said knowingly, and Draco looked up in surprise. "You protected us."

"No I didn't," Draco said defiantly. "I sent them all out! They're vulnerable to the Death Eaters now!" he yelled indignantly.

"You sent them to the Room of Requirement! You know just as well as anyone that it could easily provide us with a passageway out of Hogwarts – to safety!"

"You don't know what you're talking about," Draco said, almost pleadingly.

"You let Harry go! You let him fight because you knew they needed him out there! And when you let the rest of them go, you hoped that word of your release would show the Death Eaters that if you found no use in killing us, perhaps they wouldn't kill us either!" Draco shook his head over and over but Hermione's voice continued on strongly. "You're better than this, Malfoy. Leave the room with me, we can protect you."

Draco looked at her in denial, as if constantly shaking his head would change the fact that he disobeyed direct Death Eater orders. "No," he finally said. "I'll never make it out alive. Not after what I've done. Not after letting Potter go and trying to save you all."

"You can, you will!" Hermione said strongly, though she did not know if she believed the words herself.

"Everyone out there," Draco gestured aimlessly, "they'll hunt me down after this. I'll never make it out. They'll kill me."

Boldly, Hermione stepped away from the table she had taken cover behind and walked towards Draco. He retreated a few steps, not knowing whether it was wise of him to receive comfort while violent thoughts raced through his mind.

"I can help you," she said quietly.

"No! You can't!" Draco said suddenly, enraged by what, Hermione did not know.

"Why not?" Hermione asked.

"You saw me with this," Draco said hysterically, pointing fiercely at his arm, "you didn't tell anyone! Not Potter, not Weasley, not Dumbledore!" he growled. "But you should have. You should have, Granger. I wanted you to."

Hermione felt sympathy for him despite herself. She tried ignoring the sadness she felt in knowing that she did not help him then, when it was so clear in his eyes that he was begging for it now. Though she explored every crevice in her mind, she was not sure if she could even truly help him at all.

"I thought – I thought you wanted me to…"

"To run? To leave me there?" Hermione didn't know what to say. "Of all the people in the world I expected to help me Granger, whether we hated each other or not, I always thought it would be someone like you."

"Malfoy, it's not too late!"

"Yes, Granger. It is."

His face expressed so much sadness that Hermione wasn't sure how to respond. She waited for him to say something, do something, but nothing happened. As he looked around the room desperately, he slowly brought up his wand.

"I know what your weakness is, Granger," he said softly. "Helping people, isn't it? Whether it's your precious elves, hopeless Longbottom in Potions, or discriminated Muggle-borns and half-breeds."

Hermione shook her head, not seeing how this was relevant. Draco breathed in deeply and looked at her with hopelessness in his eyes.

"See how you feel now, knowing you can't help me."

Slowly, he raised the wand to his heart, pressing it there as if the wand was metal and his heart was steel, and the attraction between them could not be torn apart.

"Malfoy, don't," Hermione said quickly, the moment he did so. "You mustn't do this," she begged.

"Granger, you tell them what I did for you all. Tell them how I let Potter go. Tell them how I did my best to save them."" His face crumpled and he hunched over, as Hermione came rushing forwards, attempting to pull the wand away from his chest.

"It doesn't have to end this way, not like this!" Hermione said frantically, as her attempts to wrench the wand away from his heart completely failed. No matter how much she clawed at his grip, it would not slacken. All Hermione was able to do was hold Draco close, and clutch the wand as well, thinking that if he let it go, she could take it away from him.

Draco wrapped his arm tightly around Hermione's back, pressing her closer to him, and together they shared hold of the wand, resolved not to let go of it. She shook her head, deluding herself that this could not be it, and he did not have to end it this way.

"It's not a bad thing, Granger," he said quietly while looking down at the wand which joined his hand with Hermione's, "seeing the good in people. Don't ever stop lending a hand to those who need it," he said. He pressed Hermione closer to him and he winced as the wand stabbed deeper into his chest.

"Malfoy, you don't have to do this," she whispered miserably.

He smiled at her sadly. "You can't believe that this is what I wanted."

Hermione knew now, this is never what he wanted.

"Just hold me close," he muttered. Tears fell from Hermione's eyes as she nodded and held him tight. From afar, one would have thought that they were in a lover's embrace, she thought bitterly, but no romanticizing could help either of them now. In her mind, she counted to three. One… two…

"_Avada Kedavra._"

She felt the life leave him, saw the lights leave his eyes, and all at once Draco Malfoy had died, slumping down in Hermione's arms, bringing the two of them to the floor at the weight of both their bodies. Hermione looked down at him, her mouth agape in horror and disbelief. She couldn't save him.

She remained like that for a while, sitting beside his body, as if he was simply sleeping and she was watching over him. She heard the chaos of war going on around her, erupting in small explosions, loud curses being yelled and thumps of bodies around her. Despite the chaos around her however, she remained focused solely on the boy before her who, though he tried to save them all, could not save himself.

When they found her an eternity later, bloody and wounded but victorious in their struggle, they were unable to remove her from her reverie over Draco Malfoy's lifeless body. When they asked her what had happened, she said exactly what he had requested her to say before he ended it all.

"He let Harry go… he couldn't do it," she said numbly. She reached within his pocket to retrieve her wand but eventually let it fall to the ground, unable to get a grip over anything. The noise of polished wood on solid stone echoed around her.

"And he saved us all."

She reached out, covered the mark on his arm and gently closed his eyes, so that everyone who came upon him would know that Draco Malfoy had not been a Death Eater, but simply a boy and nothing more, which was all he ever wanted to be.

**x**

The End.

A/N: Thank you so much for tuning in! I'm going to have to admit, this is a story of mine I actually really like, haha. I hope you all like it as well and do me the honor of sending in a review!

Your feedback is always (as ever) very important and valuable to me.

More soon to come! Skittles for you should you choose to review! (Don't believe me? Try it, it's true!)

Love,

Lina/Sevengee


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